Car-fender.



PATENTED OCT. 23, 1906.

H. THIELE.

' CAR FENDER.

APPLICATION VIILED FEB. 23. 1906.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

rn: namu: rrrnzs an No. 833,946. PATENTED OCT. 23, 1906.

H. THIBLB. 1 GAR FENDER.

APPLICATION FILED FEB-23. 1906.

2 SHEETS-SKEET 2.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HERMAN THIELE, OF MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN, ASSIGNOR TO THE TWENTIETH CENTURY LIFE SAVING AUTOMATIC FENDER COM- PAN'Y. OF MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN, A CORPORATION OF WIS- CQNSIN.

CAR-FENDER.

Specification of Letters Patent.-

Patented. Oct. 23, 1906.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HERMAN THIELE, re-

siding in Milwaukee, in the county of Milwaukee and State of Wisconsin, have invented new and useful Improvements in Car- Fenders, of which the following is a descrip-- tion, reference being had to the accompanyingdrawings, which are a part of this specification.

This invention relates to car-fenders, and has for its object to provide means for preventing persons being run over by street-railway cars.

The invention has for its object to provide a car-fender which may normally be held up from the road-bed to avoid obstructions, but which may be quickly and easily released either by the motorrnan or by the impact of the person or other obj act struck by the spring-buffer or the depending ard, so that the fender willdrop into pos1t1on to receive and hold the person or other object in advance of the car-wheels until the car may be 4 stopped and the danger avoided.

- tion of the fender-guar Another object of this invention is to improve upon details of construction and the arrangement of parts of car-fenders of this t pe.

With the above and other objects in view the invention consists in the car-fender herein claimed, its parts and combinations of parts, and all equivalents thereof.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, in which like characters of reference indicate the same parts in the several views, Figure 1 is a sectional elevation of a car-fender constructed in accordance with this invention and applied to the front end of a street-railway car. Fig. 2 is a plan view thereof, parts being broken away. Fig. 3 is a front eleva- Fig. 4 is an enlarged detail view, partly in section, of the connection between the operating-bar and the fender member. Fig. 5 is a sectional view of said connection, taken on the plane of line 5 5 of Fig. 4 and Fig. 6 is a detail view of the adjustment connection of the fender- In the drawings, 10represents a car-body mounted upon the wheels 11, and 12 is its front platform, with the vestibule-front 13 and the rounded projecting bufler 14,,all of usual construction in the ordinary type of street-railway cars. I

Stirrup-brackets 15 are secured to and depend from the side sills of the front latform 12 and support a cross-beam 16, to t e under side of which is hinged a curved fender or basket which is made up of arallel curved metal strips 17, with their en s bent around rods or tubes 18 and 19, forming the front and rear ed es of the fender, respectively. At the mid e portion of the fender and a short distance below the rod 19 a pin 20 extends between two of the metal strips 17 and is secured thereto, preferably by having its ends split to receive the metal strips, with rivets or other securing means p assing through them, as clearly shown in Figs. 4 and 5. A pair of spacing tubes or sleeves 21 are mounted on the pin 20 between the metal strips 17 and serve as guides for an operating-rod 22, whose enlarged rear end is split to slidably fit on the pin 20 between the spacin -sleeves. A bolt 23, passing through the en s of the slotted or split portion of the operatin -rod, holds a stop-block 24 at the end of the s ot to limit the movement of the pin 20, and a coilspring 25, housed within a bore of the operating-rod, presses upon the pin 20 to keep it normally seated against the stop-block 24. Thus the operating-rod 22 is capable of positively enga ing the pin 20 of the fender when it is move forwardly and is capable of a limited sliding movement on the pin against the pressure of spring 25 when it is moved rearwardly. An eye-pin 26 is passed through one of the spacing-sleeves 21 and the pin 20 and is headed on its end to constitute a secure attaching means on the fender below the line of pivotal connection thereof for a coil-sprin 27, which extends rearwardly and is secure by means of a hook-clip28, to a cross-bar 29, forming a partof the car-body or truck-frame, so that the spring 27 con- 5 stantly tends to swing the fender 17 down wardly onto the road-bed.

Suitable bearings 30 are secured to the under side of the sills of the car-platform in advance of the fender and have journaled in them a rod 31, which forms the upper part of a fender-guard frame. At the ends and at intermediate points of the rod 31 there are downwardly extending tubes 32, curved rearwardly at their lower-ends and receiving similarly-curved stems 33 on a bottom rod 34, which forms the lower, portion of the fenderguard. The curved stems 33 telescope within the tubes 32, so as to permit of the adjustment of the bottom rod 34 toward or away from the top rod 31 to len then r shorten the -fender-guard vertical y, and

thus lower or raise its bottom rod to secure the proper distance between it and the roadbed. The lower rod 34 is locked in its ad justed position by having the end rods 33 clamped within the end tubes 32, said tubes being split at their lower ends, as shown in Fig. 6, and provided with a tapering thread on which is turned a nut 35 to clamp the tongues formed by thesplit ends inwardly agalnst the rods 33. The tubes 32 are connected at their lower ends by means of a horizontal rod 36, which is bent slightly at its ends to avoid the nuts 35. The top rod 31 and the rod 36, with the tubes 32, constitute a strong main guard-frame well braced by the intermediate tubes 32, and theobottom rod 34, with the curved stems 33, constitutes an extension guard-frame which is adjustable with relation to the main guard-frame, and the two combined form a swinging fenderard in advance of the fender proper. The mtermediate tubes 32 are connected between the top rod 31 and the rod 36 by means of a cross-rod 37, to which is pivotally connected the front endof the operating-rod 22, and a bell-crank lever 38 has its angle portion mounted on the top rod 31 close to one of the bearings 30 and one arm connected to the cross-rod 37, while the other arm extends forwardly and has pivotally connected to its end-a handle-stem 39, which passes through. an opening in the platform of the car and is adapted to have its handled upper end removably engaged in a hook 40 above the platfor The operating-rod 22 at its intermediate portion has pivotally mount-ed thereon a swinging engaging hook 41, which is pressed downwardly and forwarc'lly by means of a leaf-spring 42 on the operating-rod. The

engaging hook is so located as to be in the path of the lower rod 18 of the fender when the fender is swung upwardly and is adapted to enga e said rod to hold the fender in its eFlevate position, as shown by full lines in 1g. 1. its forward swing, so that should the motorman release the handle-stem 39 from the hook '40 and push downwardly thereon to swing the bell-crank lever 38 the fenderguard will be swung rearwardly, pushing the o erating-rod 22 rearwardly, with its rear end s iding on the pin 20 and carrying the engaging hook 41 out of engagement with the front rod 18 of the fender, thereby releasing the The engaging hook 41 is limited in gee in the position shown by dotted lines in Fig. .1. The fender in its thrown. position is adapted to receive and hold a person or other object lying across the tracks and carry it until the car may be stopped.

When it is desired to reset the fender, it is only necessary for the motorman to pull upwardly on the handle-stem 39, which will tomatically by a person or other object being struck by the fender-guard when the handle-stem 39 is out of engagement withthe hook 40, which is the normal runmng condition, the fender-guard then swinging upwardly to pass over the body, and so pushing the operating-rod 22 rearwardly to release I the fender and allow it to drop, as before. A further automatic operation of the fender is desired to take place in event of the car striking a person in a standing position. To this end the projecting rounded'bufler 14 of the car-platform is provided with-.a series of C-shaped strips Qf spring metal 43, which are I united at their ends and their intermediate portions by curved strips 44 in horizontal planes, the lowermost strip 44 having its ends bent rearwardly at 45 to engage the end tubes 32 of the fender-guard frame,so that when the spring-buffer formed by these spring-strips is pressed rearwardly, as upon striking a standing person, these bent-ends 45 will press the fender-guard rearwardly and release the fender that it may drop into position ready to receive the erson.

It will be understood t at the hook 40 for. holding the handle-stem 39 in its upper position is only intended for use when it is desired to lock the fender against operation, as during heavy snowstorms, where the snow on the road-bed would otherwise repeatedly tri the fender-guard and release the fender. uring normal conditions the handle-stem is out of engagement with the hook 40, so that the fender may be. either thrown automaticall in the different wa s above mentioned or it mmmmsing flownwardly on the handlestem with his The adjustability of the fender-guard enables the device to be carefully ad usted for the requirements of the articular road-bed with which it is used, an the guard-frame is curved rearwardly, so that it may freely pass over the body without injuring it.

' gaaeee 'Ihe means by which the fender may be re set after its operation is simple inits construce tion and sure in its operation, enabling the motorman to quickly restore the fender to its elevated osition without stopping the car or leaving tiie platform.

What I claimas my invention is.- 1. In a car-fender, a fendermember mounted to move toward or away from the road bed, a pivoted guard in advance thereof, an operating-rod connecting the guard with the fender member, means for holding thefend'er member in an elevated position adaptedto be released by themovements of the guard, and means for swinging the guard to return the fender member to its elevated position.

2. In a car-fender, a pivotally-mounted fender member capable of movement toward or away from the road-bed, a guard pivotally mounted in front of the fender member, an operating-rod connecting the guard with the fender member, and a catch on the operatingrod for engagin the fender member and holding it in an e evated position, said catch being adapted to release the fender member when the guard is swung by engaging an obstruction on the road-bed.

3. In a car-fender, a pivotally-mounted fender member capable of movement toward or away from the road-bed, a guard pivotally mounted in front of the fender member, an operating-rod connecting the guard withthe fender member, a catch on the operatin -rod for engaging the fender member and hoIding it in an elevated position, said catch being adapted to release the fender member when the guard is swung by engaging an obstruction on the road-bed, and hand-operated means for-swinging the guard to restorethe fender member to its elevated position in engagement with the catch.

4. In a car-fender, a pivotally-mounted fender member capable of movement toward or away from the road-bed, an automatic guard pivotally mounted in front of the fender member, an operatingrod connecting the guard with the fender member and having a sliding connection with the fender member, a catch carried by the operating-rod for engaging and holding the fender member in an elevated position and adapted to be released therefrom by the movement of the operatin rod when the guard is swung, and han operated means for swinging the guard to cause the release of the fender member and to restore it to its elevated position in engagement with the catch.

5. In a car-fender, a pivotally-mounted fender member capable of movement toward or away from the road-bed, an automatic guard pivotally mounted in front of the fender member, an operating-rod connectin the guard with the fender member and having a spring-pressed slidin connection with the fender member, a catc carried by the operather and to restore it to its elevated ing-rod for engaging and holding the fender member in an elevated position and adapted to be released therefrom by the movement of the operating-rod when the guard is swung,

and hand-operated means for swinging the guard to cause the release of the fender memposition in en agement with the catch. 6. n a car-fender, a pivotally-mounted fender member capable of movement toward or away from the road-bed, an automatic guard pivotally mounted in front of the fender member, an operating-rod connecting the guard with the fender member having a slotted end riding on a pin of the fender member, a spring seated within a bore in the end of the operating -rod and against which the pin bears, said pin having a positive enga ement with the operating-rod at the end of t e slot, a catch carried by the operating-rod for engaging and holding the fender member in an elevated position and adapted to be released therefrom by the movement of the operatingrod when the guard is swung, and hand-opera'ted means for swinging the guard to cause the release of the fender mei'nber and to restore it to its elevated with the catch;

7. In a car-fender, a pivotally-mounted fender member capable of movement toward or away from the road-bed, an automatic guard pivotally mounted in front of the fender member, an operating-rod connecting the. guard with the fender member and having a sliding connection with the fender mem ber, a catch carried by the operating-rod for engaging and holding the fender member in an elevated position and adapted to be released therefrom by the movement of the operating-rod when the guard is swung, handoperated means for swinging the guard to cause the release of the fender member and to restore it to its elevated position in engagement wlth the catch, and a spring connected to the fender member for forcibly swinging it toward the road-bed when it is released by the catch.

8. In a car-fender, a pivotally-mounted fender member capable of movement toward or away from the road-bed, said fender member comprising parallel metal strips connected to top and bottom rods, an automatic guard pivotally mounted in advance of the fender member, an operating-rod connected to the guard and having a slotted rear end. a pin with slotted ends embracing strips of the fender member and secured thereto, spacing sleeves on the pin, said operating-rod slidably mounted on, the pin between the spacingsleeves, "a coil-spring seated in a bore in the end of the-operating-rod and bearing on the pin, a block secured in the slot of the operat lng-rod for engagement with the pin, a catch carried by the o I erating-rod for engaging and holding the fen er member in an elevated poposition in engagement.

IIO

. mounted in-advance of the sition and adapted to be released therefrom by the movement of the operating-rod when the guard is swung, and hand operated means for swinging the guard to cause the release of the fender member and to restore it to its elevated position in engagement with the catch.

9. Ina car-fender, a pivotally-mounted" fender member capable of movement toward or away from the road-bed, a guard pivotally the fender member, an operating-rod connecting the guard with the fender member, a sprin -pressed hook on the o crating-rod adapted to engage and hold t e fender member in an elevated position, and hand-operated means for swinging the ard to move the operating-rod and carr Iihok out of engagement with the fender member and also to restore her to its elevated with the hook.

10. In a car-fender, a pivotally-mounted fender member capable of movement toward or away from the road-bed, a guard pivotally mounted in advance of the fender member, and means de endent upon the guard for engaging and ho ding the fender member in an elevated position, said guard comprising a main frame and an extension-frame adjustable thereon to vary the distance between the guard and the road-bed.

11. In a car-fender, a pivotally-mounted fender member capable of movement toward or away from the road-bed, a guard pivotally mounted in advance of the fender member, and means .de endent upon the guard for engaging and liolding the fender member in an elevated position, said guard comprising a frame having tubular members, an extension-frame having stems to telescope within -the tubular members of the main frame and nuts threaded on tapering split ends of the tubular members to clamp thestems in their adjusted positions, whereby the extension-frame may be adjusted with relation to the main frame of the uard and the distance between the guard and the road-bed may be varied.

, 12. In a car-fender, a pivotally-mounted fender member capable of movement toward or away from the road-bed, a guard pivotally mounted in advance of the fender member,

the fender memposition in engagement means dependent upon the guard for engaging and holding the fender member in an elevated position, and a s ring-buffer in advance of the guard and a apted to engage the guard for moving it to release the fender member.

13. In a car-fender, a cross-beam having stirrupbrackets to be secured to the sills beneath a car-platform, a fender member piv otally mounted to the cross-beam and comprising parallel strips of metal cbnnected to rods at their upper and lower ends, a guard pivotally mounted from the platform-sills in advance of the fender member and comprising a main frame with curved tubular members and an extension-frame having curved stems slidable within the tubular members of the main frame and adjustably clamped therein by means of nuts threaded on tapering split ends of said tubular members, an operating-rod pivoted-at its front end to the main frame of the guard and having a slot at its rear end, a pin connected between strips of the fender member, spacing-sleeves on the pin, the slotted end of the operatingrod being slidably mounted on the pin between the s acing sleeves, a coil sprin seated in a ore of the operating-rod an bearing on the pin, a block held within the slot of the operating-rod and ada ted to engage the pm, an eye-pin passing t rough one of the spacing-sleeves and the pin, a coilspring connected with the eye-pin at one end and having connection with an unyielding support at the other end, a spring-pressed hook mounted on the operatin -rod and adapted to enga e and hold the fender member in an elevate position, a bell-crank lever connected with the guard, a handle-stem connected to the bell-crank lever and projecting through the platform, a hook on the platform with which the handlestem is adapted to engage, and a spring-buffer secured to the front end of the platform and adapted to engage and move the guard on striking an obstruction.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

' HERMAN THIELE.

Witnesses:

R. S. C. CALDWELL, ANNA F. SCHMIDTBAUER. 

